Reviews

Blood Secret by Kathryn Lasky

abaugher's review

4.0

interesting. not what i was hoping for in a book right now, but i learned more about hte world history of jewish travels and travails. i never thought that there was a jewish community in New Mexico, and certainly never thought people would harass them that far! geez, get a tolerance, already!

cami19's review

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

brandyryann's review

4.0

It started out slow but turned out to be a very good book.

lorayne's review

5.0

This is such a mesmerizing story told from a present-day character who discovers that her Jewish ancestors had to reinvent themselves to avoid persecution. The book flashes back to show the story of the various generations that escaped Spain and travelled to the New World. This is a perfect book to tie into studies concerning the Spanish Inquisition because it highlights a time in history that is not covered too deeply in a middle school textbook.

rrabas's review

3.0

Interesting concept, but there is not really a point to the story and it's poorly written in my opinion.

lyndee_rreadng's review

Jerry hasn't spoken since her mother left her so long ago. It's not that she can't she just chooses not to. Why should she? The nuns tell her that the priests are praying for her mother, but she doubts that she will ever see her mother again. Her mom was just that type of woman, the wandering type. Jerry has to go somewhere though, so she goes to her great aunt Costanza's house. Here, Jerry works to find her voice, her identity, and her past and she finds in the most interesting of places.

I really loved this book. I'm actually taking a Hispanic Civilizations class right now and we are studying the Spanish Inquisition and Cortez and that era, so this book has been extremely interesting to me. The book is much more that the first few chapters let on. I really liked it and I would recommend it to anyone who loves history.

spaghettisaurusrex's review

emotional informative mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

This book blew me away. I don't know what I was expecting, but the deeply moving tale of a family constantly threatened by the violence of the Spanish Inquisition and imperialism, stretching back centuries through assorted keepsakes, woven together like the lace that is a recurring theme, wasn't it at all. But it's exactly what I needed.

Jewish history, Hispanic/Latino history, and indigenous history weave together in ways that, even as a history student, I'd never before thought about.

There's something poetic about the journey of protagonist Jerry, something that's hard to describe without getting into spoiler territory, and this story is best discovered for oneself.

The only real complaint I have is the sometimes lackluster editing, especially early on. There are several typos and formatting issues that interrupt the flow of an otherwise breathtaking story.

Blood Secret is magical realism at its finest.